Monday, March 26, 2012

The marijuana cultivation school in downtown Oakland named Oaksterdam University, sometimes referred to as the Harvard of Hemp, is facing tough times. With the feds cracking down on pot dispensaries across the state, enrollment has taken a nose dive. The Sacramento Bee’s Peter Hecht says that Oaksterdam, which once ran seven classes, each with 70 students, is down to a single class of 50 these days. An excerpt:

Oaksterdam's enrollment began falling as some California cities seemed oversaturated with cannabis businesses. The number of students dropped sharply last fall when U.S. attorneys began sending seizure notices to dispensary landlords and threatening cultivators. The prosecutors claimed California's marijuana industry – supposedly nonprofit – had been "hijacked by profiteers" operating in violation of both state and federal law.

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Some students who do sign up want to hear whether they can even contemplate cannabis careers in the current climate.